I Accidentally Bought the New Arduino UNO R4 (And It's INSANE)

[@clytle374]

Okay, fine. But they shouldn't have called it a UNO, it's a completely different beast. It's just going to cause headaches for anyone familiar with the old UNO. Very dumb move.

[@SoloRenegade]

my thought exactly

[@TheBinklemNetwork]

Good point

[@jimviau327]

Yap! Almost as dumb as this new crappie KZbin new app that was just forced installed on my S8 tablet this morning. What a shty move. I hate it.

[@bhambhole]

"the Arduino can talk to your car, just don't let it drive" 😂

[@bob1505]

Musk would.

[@sanjaybhatikar]

Good Lord, it is almost as good as ESP32!

[@playduino]

Ohh, Yes!

[@travispulley8899]

The wifi version includes one

[@Atom224]

I don't know if this is sarcasm, but it's nowhere close to the performance of an ESP32

[@solwidotnl]

Different use case, though. The Arduino boards support 5V shields, have a wide range power supply, quicker compile time and better peripherals (for instance, a linear ADC).

[@Peter_A1466]

@@solwidotnl that really doesn't come across in this video

[@PaperHunter]

My hot air station laughs at the "inability to swap chips". I still don't want one though. ESP32, RP2040/2530 or even good old Arduino Nano (the Elegoo clone ones) are my choice these days.

[@djdiscoordination639]

Aye just fixed one from work with the qfn for the u2 and the 328p.

[@twr4641]

I was curious, started with Arduino originally. I am puzzled why people use Arduino these days. A 16MB single core ESP32-C3 costs less than €2, a dual-core 16MB ESP32 with high density ttf display and liion charger is under €5, with 16 gpios, and about 1/4 of the size of an Arduino. I am honestly just wondering. Btw you can of course run 5v peripherals. Gpios are 5v tolerant.

[@krib1887]

We made a board using the Renesas RA4M1, Added optocouplers on all 13 IOs so we can input up to 32V. Also added 13 transistors to control mosfets /relays. For the Analog pins, we added some voltage divider circuits so we can read up to 36V. The Can is very easy to use we simply added a Sn65Hvd with choke and capacitors, we manage to read machinery Canbus and activate modules. We are currently trying to add a RF module to the board as well as a Canbus display. We had to change the renesas Buck converter since it is absoulte trash and really hard to solder. We love the ra4m1.

[@playduino]

:) nice. so output current is not an issue any more in your case. You could add an ESP32 for RF (WIFI / Bluetooth) like Arduino UNO R4 WiFi does it.

[@krib1887]

@@playduino We want to actually sell the product so we needed a FCC approved Radio frequency module. We went for the RN2903 from microchip.

[@playduino]

@krib1887 esp wroom and wrover modules (like on Arduino WiFi) should also be precertified

[@zentriceggofficial]

I regret buying it. Many popular libraries won't run on it. Meanwhile the inexpensive ESP Wroom32, utilising both cores at 240mhz. Or how about the Teensy 4.1? 600mhz overclock? 1ghz Overclock?

[@SpeccyMan]

MHz, not mhz!

[@Comonad]

I don’t think I’ve ever spec’d my components based on clock speed. 48Mhz vs 1Ghz is a chisel vs dynamite, something’s gone horribly wrong if that’s what’s been picked. What I’m considering: price buying in bulk, availability, power consumption, instruction set, pin counts.

[@zentriceggofficial]

@@Comonad I see. Clock speed is critical for me since my projects are generally music hardware. Latest project needs a good clock speed for the TFT graphics as well. In fact making use of both cores of the ESP32 was essential. 240mhz x 2. ESP Wroom 32 is very affordable. Teensy and DaisySeed not so much. Would have to be very special music projects for either of those two devices. I started some of my projects on the Uno R3 and then shifted over to ESP32.

[@twr4641]

The thing is: Arduino is produced just for hobbyists. Esp32 are industrial mc that are used by the millions in all kinds of devices, and industry makes sure that this mc family is always up to par. I thank Arduino for providing me with the first steps but honestly this platform today is light years behind while at the same time ridiculously overpriced. Good ESP32 boards today, obviously with Wifi, BLE, efficient deep sleep and 16MB are below €3 and fully support 5V peripherals. And they are just as simple to program as Arduino, even ArduinoIDE would work (although I strongly recommend platformio or better yet esphome). Don’t be trapped in the old Arduino World.

[@bhambhole]

I haven't bought a teensy for maybe ten years but was always very impressed with how powerful they were. They were a bit pricey but well worth it. I'll have to check out the newer ones. Thanks for reminding me of them.

[@mt-qc2qh]

I don't see the sense in continuing this core line. I've retired all my atmel cores over 2 years ago in favor of the ESP line of microcontrollers. Over the years I've accumulated just about every form factor of arduino modules all of which are now rotting in a box. Life is too short for all the devices being spung on us. I now standardize on the esp32C3 for battery based sensors, esp32S3 for hubs and esp32 for bluetooth audio (for the A2DP). For wearables I use the nrf52480 family.

[@tdumnxy]

Cool. The 14bit ADC could interest me... but wait I'm still using my Duemilanove which I bought when it first came out. DC Current per I/O Pin:40 mA, And on-board FTDI. And a proper big-boy Type B connector. They don't break! And I can even pronounce Duemilanove properly.

[@playduino]

I love my Duemilanove!

[@zaired]

I almost bought it, but in Canada the wifi version is way too expensive. I can get esp32 wroom for 10 cad but r4 is 60 cad

[@marsrocket]

Sounds awesome until you get to the pin current limits. That means you’ll need external transistors or mosfets to drive even moderately powered chips.

[@BartVenneker]

What?? What chip requires an input current of more than 8mA??

[@marsrocket]

@@BartVenneker any LED, any 7400 series TTL chip, lots of sensors, etc.

[@jimmy21584]

I picked up one of these only because it is almost alone in being fast + 5v level + Arduino. I am using it to interface with an ancient Casio computer, and level converters + ESP32 did not work with its non-standard I/O. Also of note is that the new chip is a whole other world from STM when you dig below the Arduino libraries.

[@DustinWatts]

Everyone destroyed at least one Arduino. Fortunately, you could swap the ATMega chip and be up and running again. To do this with the Renesas RA4M1 is a bit more difficult. And all the nice ram upgrades are great, but the big reduction in pin output in mA, makes it not worth for me. I have long switch to the ESP32 eco system and see no reason to go back to Arduino...

[@joeblow229]

The R4 is something that in the past, I would have bought one just to put it in a nice case to display on my shelf. The way the economy is now, I can't really justify the expense for something I probably won't use. Like others have said, I'll just use the ESP32 or a Pico W for 1/4 or less of the cost of the R4.

[@BartVenneker]

The VREF pin on the Arduino Uno R3 is used as the reference voltage for the analog-to-digital converter So you may connect it to 2v to get the full ADC resolution over 2volt in stead of the default 5v

[@playduino]

Yeah thankfully they kept the VREF pin on R4

[@AlanTheBeast100]

Nice - this means some OS-less projects I do on Pi can probably be done on UNO R4. Buying one now.

[@playduino]

Some of them for sure 👍

[@fmphotooffice5513]

I think it outgrew its from factor. It was ok in the past if you wanted to put "shields" on it, etc or if you wanted to scrape out the dip chip and make a simplified "dead bug" project. ESP32 stuff is tiny and abundant now. The Arduino IDE is excellent and very mature but this new thing is awkward in this space.

[@rubmel98]

That R4 seems to be a little big power-tool for our projects!

[@tolkienfan1972]

I like the upgrade in compute. I think I'll get a couple to experiment

[@jeremiahbullfrog3090]

Did anyone notice the map of Italy on the bottom side in one of the corners? Complete with both islands! Also, ChatGPT does a good job programming the led array.

[@playduino]

the map looks nice, I overall like the design of all Arduino boards, they are doing a great job. I need to check out my R4 Wifi :)

[@danondler8808]

They should have put a removable jumper on the LED pin13 circuit to remove the LED and full utilization of pin13. The reduced power on I/O pins and soldered in micro are deal breakers for me.

[@playduino]

Agree 👍

[@seanfaherty]

I got Raspis too but when I want to do something I try to make it work with an arduino

[@Unmannedair]

Why on Earth would they lower the throughput amperage?! 🤯 That simply reduces the backwards compatibility! 😠

[@radazeonv8821]

I heard about earlier iterations of the EEPROM being very limited in its write cycles. How does it fair with R4?

[@playduino]

Great question Arduino Uno R3 has a EEPROM with 100,000 write cycles. Arduino Uno R4 has no EEPROM, in fact has a virtual EEPROM utilizing the flash memory itself which has also 100,000 write cycles. In theory the flash memory could endure longer if there was wear-leveling in place. However looking into the source code, I did not find such a mechanism.

[@radazeonv8821]

@@playduino If there is no current method to wear-leveling, suppose that may be your next video topic?

[@playduino]

Nice topic to dive into for sure 👍

[@MGsyd]

You still need an external transceiver to use the can bus

[@playduino]

True!

[@jlucasound]

Like a having a cell phone while traveling using public transportation, with a positive outlook, right? 🤔🤣✌

[@jlucasound]

@@playduino Thanks for this video! I LOVE Arduinos!

[@philipershler420]

A very nice and honest review of the R4 Uno, thanks.

[@Veso266]

What?? Noo, I was realy happy when I heard CANBus is built in What difference does this make having CANbus half built in like esp32 does, if u still need something external) better to use, external canbus board like MCP2515 then?

[@Jasmohan]

With these many tradeoffs, isn't it better to just use a ESP32 directly?

[@playduino]

If your project works with 3.3V then probably yes

[@jazzboy]

Great board but the removed the crystal rendering it useless for my application of turntable control via SimpleFOC. Tried one and sadly had to send it back. Maybe future coding might make is useful. Mr R3 got .05% wow&flutter vs over 1% with the R4. Again beautiful board but not for all applications.

[@cle4tle]

could they have maybe used some transistors to amplify the available current at each pin

[@playduino]

they could have, but this would have made it more expensive for everyone, so I guess its fine to keep the current limit in mind and add a transistor to your project if its required by your project

[@makers_lab]

For a few pins maybe, but for pins that are bidirectional that's not so suitable. The current limit also shouldn't be an issue for interfacing to peripherals, and you can get low current LEDs that need just one or two mA if you want to trivially add some status LEDs, so it's workable. Still prefer STM32, ESP8266 or 32 though :)

[@JustMe-s6s4m]

Too little too late. After working with Arduinos for years (including my own bareboard variants, some using the 1284 instead of the 328), I have basically stopped using them altogether. I still use the same IDE, but my boards tend to be around the ESP32-S3 now. Onboard WiFi and Bluetooth, 240 MHz, up to 32MB Flash (WROOM-2), built-in MMC (faster and bigger SD cards), etc. etc. etc. I now have a feature rich webserver and NAS in a very small package.

[@targas1008]

..but it can take only 8milli amps per pin, which is a shame..

[@RaOne-gk3ok]

Would choose a pico or bluepill over it for now

[@Jenny_Digital]

I’m surpassed they went with that chip (and no, it’s not a complaint) given that the STM32 line could cheaply and easily do the same with more memory, higher clock speeds and at least feature parity. I have been programming STM32s, PICs, AVRs, and an assortment of MCUs since I don’t know when. So I know STM32s are excellent candidates.

[@playduino]

As far as I know, there are no STM32 microcontrollers that operate on a 5V power supply. While some STM32 models are 5V tolerant, it seems Arduino opted to maintain full compatibility with 5V I/Os, which may have limited their options quite significantly.

[@Jenny_Digital]

@@playduino There are indeed a good, but incomplete selection of 5V tolerant pins on some STM32s. Also, I recognise that 5V logic is well into its pensionable age but that Arduino has kept it to continue compatibility. Maybe it's time to define a new 3.3V standard for Arduino to go forward. OTOH, I just learned of a Cortex M4 that runs at 5V for retro projects, and that will come in handy. I guess we learn every day. Thank you.

[@playduino]

Oh, I see ... Kinetis KE1xF for example. not bad! thank you.

[@pengyuecai553]

The reason why Arduino chooses to use Renesas chips is because Renesas has invested in them.

[@playduino]

Oh that is possible tracxn.com/d/companies/arduino/__pTebmNyTTWfIkwprLaIa7jst5W9_B3KGiz6GjtCEp6g/funding-and-investors#summary

[@dafoex]

The CAN support sounds fun, I've always threatened to make a thing to see what my car is thinking. Also first?

[@evanbarnes9984]

I think this makes sense as a choice for Arduino purely for maintaining 5V logic compatibility while offering more processing power in a form factor that a lot of people still use. But it's still a weird choice. It's not like anyone was using Renesas MCUs in the hobby world already, so this is a pretty niche ecosystem with low compatibility for libraries. I also honestly don't understand why anyone is still using the Uno form factor. I think they should have just left it at the R3 and stopped further development on that line. The Uno is such a huge board with a bunch of empty space on the PCB, i can't imagine a situation for my projects where using one would make more sense than using a Nano or something. I'm honestly also surprised that they went with the Renesas chip when there are options like ATSAMD51 out there. There's a well developed ecosystem of boards and libraries that are already compatible with those and I'm pretty sure there are 5V tolerant SAMD chips, although i don't remember exactly off the top of my head. And of course there are other great choices like ESP32. I just feel like there were better choices available, I'd love to know why they chose the RA4M1.

[@playduino]

Me too. It doesn‘t fully make sense to me

[@djdiscoordination639]

I have so many kicking about and it gets used a lot for teaching. It's a useful wee tool but i tend to do my own pcbs if i'm making something.

[@pengyuecai553]

We chose Renesas chips because Renesas has invested in them.

[@sergeantsapient]

The SMD chip is kind of discouraging.

[@IamTheHolypumpkin]

I kind of dislike that they switched from an 8 bit AVR to a 32 bit ARM architecture. Maybe I'm weird, but I associate the Arduino Brand Names like Uno, Nano, more with the CPU architecture than with the form Factor. But I also like to expore assembly code so may not surprise that I'm so pinned on the architecture. Anyway disadvantage the switch in architecture is that any code directly interacting with the CPU registers will need to be rewritten or use Register Emulation like the Arduino folks did with the Nano Every. But the Nano Every is still AVR, register emulation across architectures is not really feasible.

[@playduino]

Agree, they shouldn’t have called it UNO

[@MagmaBow]

i just stumbled across the channel, and immediately subscribed. One criticism is that your face is everso slightly too low in the video composition which seems a bit... off...

[@indyguy04]

So it can't even drive an LED on a digital pin without pwm? That's a huge bummer!

[@playduino]

Yeah, I wouldn’t risk it with PWM to be honest 😂

[@makers_lab]

Sure you can as 1mA LEDs are a thing. I've found low current LEDs useful with battery projects for example.

[@dogsbd]

Why doesn't Ardunio use USB-C for power like R Pi?

[@playduino]

R4 does

[@desmond-hawkins]

I don't understand why people still buy Arduino boards. They're huge, expensive, have all the limitations covered in this video including being incredibly underpowered, and for ages had this terrible big barrel plug that you still carried around even if you didn't live in the 90's. I don't know why anyone would buy one instead of an ESP32, or an ATmega board if they really needed low-power.

[@Veso266]

Everything great, exept the soldered MCU No, just no, why not put it in a socket, of course its not dip socket, but a different type of socket What people that used arduino did was they programmed their ATMega in arduino took it out, then into their own project And now u cannot do this anymore (at least not as easly)

[@playduino]

agree, I removed ATMegas countless times and integrated them somewhere :/

[@dalerogers1134]

Thank you

[@vanhetgoor]

Yeah, but all of those improvements sound like expensive.

[@seanfaherty]

So they made it better and way worse all at the same time. Not being able to run 20 mA seems stupid.

[@jlucasound]

@1:12 Milk came out my nose. 🥛🤣🌊😳🤧😉

[@3D_Printing]

32 I want 256 :)

[@colin_actually]

Absurd power limits

[@matgaw123]

Arduino uno + rp2040 would be cool But it would be 3.3v tho

[@SpeccyMan]

A RP2350 would be better.

[@matgaw123]

@@SpeccyMan absolutely 👍

[@TT-it9gg]

Oops.. no clue why use it? what for? $ or?

[@chudchadanstud]

haven't looked at Arduino in a while but Jesus £25 for an Uno? 😂

[@AnweshAdhikari]

❤

[@TheGraemeEvans]

Rp2040. Why is anyone still using Arduino?

[@pgrvloik]

I see no reason to buy an arduino anymore.

[@almosthuman4457]

Yeah I'll subscribe. this is the kind of stuff that makes this website still worth visiting. I gotta go see what kind of projects you have now.

[@ovalwingnut]

First time viewer. Definitely a SUB-worth video Arduino "Give'ith & Take'ith away? But still COoL. Cheers from So.Ca.USA 3rd house on the left (please call before stopping by)

[@GeeEmJay]

Sorry, but while the Arduino brand innovated at the start, they have progresively been overtaken by other manufacturers. ESP8266, ESP32, RP2040 to name but a few. This just seems like the old Apple Marketing - "look at our flashy new flagship product, it's more expensive, it has third generation components and runs at a fraction of Android competitors, but it's still better, becaue we say so." The Teensy 4.0 runs at a whopping 600mhz and it's bigger brother Teensy 4.1 has tons more pins / peripherals onboard. Wake up Arduino - you are well behind in the tech race!!

[@jlucasound]

HEY! I LOVE Goldy! 🐠 And I am pretty sure she remembers me when I get home from work. Pretty sure. I think. I give her 8 bits of food and she likes that. 🤗☺ 😒 😉

[@SpeccyMan]

Conditioned response or memory?

[@ipendlebury]

Just beware. The onboard RTC is not accurate, it's completely useless for my purposes.

[@playduino]

Oh no, can you give us examples of applications where it's useless?

[@ipendlebury]

@@playduino No need to give you examples. The clock gains over 2 minutes per day. I searched the Arduino forum and found that other people have the same problem.

[@playduino]

OMG 😨

[@TrimeshSZ]

@@ipendlebury The really strange thing is that there are pads on the PCB for a 32.768kHz xtal and associated load capacitors. But they aren't installed. Seeing as how cheap these parts are this is a baffling omission - especially considering the price they are selling this board for. Since there is no xtal, the Arduino core for this board configures the RTC to use the low-frequency internal oscillator - which according to the Renesas datasheet is nominally 32.768kHz - but has an allowable range between 27.8 and 37.6KHz (fLOCO on page 57 of the datasheet) - so in principle it could gain or lose 9 seconds a minute and still be in spec. Why are they even advertising this as usable?

[@ronaldronald8819]

Why bother esp32 much better and cheaper to.

[@graealex]

Why make 4K video when everything is out of focus?

[@highpraise-highcritic]

4K is so beyond common at this point on cameras that your comment comes across as foolish. Also you would still have the same critcism for focus at 2K or 1080 .. so say what you really want to say and stop wasting everyone's time.

[@spasticjackson9578]

@@highpraise-highcritic still out of focus... regardless of how clever you are.

[@highpraise-highcritic]

@@spasticjackson9578Who said it wasn't? I didn't even address whether it is or not. So what's your point in telling me?

[@graealex]

@@highpraise-highcritic The end result is still 480p in places. Also, it's not too common for hobbyists, since 4K60 is still an expensive barrier for filmmakers.

[@highpraise-highcritic]

@@graealex I know you aren't flipping this discussion to the end user statistics to try and not be wrong ... 😂 You were dunking on the content, not making an empirical observation of the youtube user base. Also why skip over the obvious 4K30? or even 2K .. you wriggle more than a worm trying to be right.

[@xander1756]

When clickbaiting titles become so ridiculous.

[@habiks]

I "Accidentally" pressed don't recommend this channel.

[@spasticjackson9578]

pass

[@fooballers7883]

lot of crap ...stick to R3 chinese

[@Eriiiiiiiick]

u funny bro